Dragon Age Genesis, Book 1: The Awakening
by Trence Vask Zephyr
Summary: The people of Thedas have always lived in fear of the darkspawn, especially when they begin a Blight. Little do they know there is a greater evil waiting to be awakened in the bowls of the earth. Rated M for lemon chapters later on.


**Dragon Age Genesis, Book I: The Awakening**

_**Prologue**_

_It is said that when greed clouds a person's judgment, he sees no outcome save for his own gain…_

_ That is why when men tried to take the Golden City from the Maker, they failed miserably and wound up unleashing an evil greater than anything ever scene before: the darkspawn._

_ Born from the sins of greed and desire, the darkspawn sought nothing but total destruction. _

_ Thedas was a land filled with people who knew mainly joy and peace, so when the darkspawn appeared, many were unprepared for the voracious attack of these monsters. After their brief but bloody siege on the surface, the darkspawn moved underground and started to claim the Deep Roads—the massive underground tunnels used by the dwarves. With the Deep Roads overrun, the darkspawn had the means to move almost anywhere within Thedas with little to no hindrance. _

_ Thus, the darkspawn moved back to the surface to continue their bloody war on all of the peoples of Thedas._

_ Things looked grim, until a ray of hope appeared in the form of a band of brothers and sisters who had come together in Thedas' greatest hour of despair. They were first ones to fight and successfully drive back the darkspawn and they would not be the first. Their names would be forever immortalized and the name of their band would come to represent heroes of every region Thedas. The name of this band of heroes was the Grey Wardens…_

_

* * *

_

Duncan stood on the threshold of a cliff, overlooking a deep ravine lost in his thoughts. He was an old, grizzled man with salt and pepper hair tied in a ponytail in back; he wore armor made of silverite that used to glisten but now was covered in scratches, dents, and speckled with fresh, black blood of darkspawn. In his right hand, he held a silverite sword and in his left he held a silverite dagger. He was breathing heavily for he had just killed a dozen darkspawn alone. But this did not bring him solace, for he had failed in saving his comrades-in-arms; their bodies either on the ground in pieces or hanging by a noose in the air. Duncan could suddenly feel the years weighing heavily upon him as he drew in a long breath.

The veteran heard footsteps come up from behind him, but he remained calm for he knew who was coming.

"Duncan, Duncan!" said a young man as he ran up to Duncan, "are you all right…? What happened here?"

Duncan sheathed his weapons and turned around to see the face of a man with short, cowlick blonde hair, and brown eyes wearing sturdy, plain studded leather armor, holding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. This man's name was Alistair, a junior amongst Duncan's order, the Grey Wardens.

Sighing, Duncan shook his head as he covered his face. "I am sorry, Alistair…it pains me to say that our friends have fallen to a darkspawn ambush." Duncan said with a heavy heart.

"What! But they were veterans of the Grey Wardens! There's no way they could have fallen so easily to darkspawn!"

"I know Alistair, I know," Duncan folded his arms as his face twisted into serious thought, "it bothers me to no end. I cannot explain how these Grey Wardens fell into a darkspawn ambush."

"At least they managed to take a few of those bastards with them before they fell."

"I'm afraid, Alistair, that they did not slay any darkspawn when they fell." Alistair looked at Duncan, flabbergasted. "When I got here, I only found their bodies. The darkspawn you see on the ground here are ones that I dispatched after they tried to attack me."

"But that's impossible!" Alistair looked around at the bodies that littered the area. "Darkspawn are not this clever, even during a Blight. How could they have pulled off a successful ambush?"

"I do not know, Alistair, but one thing is certain…there is more to this Blight than we first realized. We will need to recruit more into our order if we are to stem the tide of this evil."

"Recruit more? Are you sure that's wise?"

"I know it is risky to use the Rite of Conscription too much, but these are desperate times, Alistair. We will need all the aid we can find…"

"But what about those half dozen Grey Wardens from Orlais; surely, they will be enough to aid us in our endeavors?"

"They will not be enough. There are eight Grey Wardens in all of Ferelden right now, but we need more. Also, there is the old grudge Ferelden has against Orlais…"

"Heh, you'd think after being liberated for more than eighty years, the people of Ferelden would forget about their little problem with Orlais."

Duncan sighed. "Hatred runs deep, Alistair, and it is not something that can just be forgotten in less than one or two generations. No, we need more Ferelden-born Grey Wardens, if only to keep the king's soldiers at ease."

"But where are you going to find more Grey Wardens on such short notice?"

"There are a few places I have in mind that may yield some promising recruits. I will need you to head back to camp Alistair and keep an eye on both the king's forces and our own."

"Where will you be?"

"I will be traveling across the lands of Ferelden for our new recruits. Hopefully, when I return in six months, we will be able to increase our numbers."

"Six months? Are you serious? That seems like an awfully long time just to go on a scouting mission…"

Duncan easily sensed the uneasiness in Alistair's voice and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Alistair, do not worry, I will not be gone for too long. If you need something to keep you preoccupied, then head back to the camp and try to keep order while I am away."

Alistair fell silent Duncan released his shoulder and began to walk past him.

Alistair did not stay silent for long. "And what if you do not find any recruits?"

Duncan stopped and turned around. "Then may the Maker help us all…"

* * *

_When an evil force threatens the lands of Ferelden, it will be up to a group of people from almost every free race to band together in order to stop it. But little do these heroes know that there is an evil far older than the darkspawn, lurking within the bowls of Thedas, waiting for the day it can be awakened…_

This is the beginning of my Dragon Age Origins alternate universe fanfic. This series will feature many of the first Dragon Age characters as well as introduce some new ones. I hope you all enjoy reading this new series from me and do not worry, I have not given up on my Naruto fanfic.

**Prologue**: Here

**Chapter 1**: Coming Soon…

Dragon Age series © Bioware


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